Hello dear readers. I have a new and different piece for you today. This will be longer than my usual oneshots in this fandom, so I hope you enjoy. I hope to have regular updates and for those of you who read my other pieces, I've been busy this summer so hopefully they'll continue to be updated as well.


Sex & Drugs & Familiar Faces

By OneHorseShay
Disclaimer: Don't Own, Don't Sue. For God's sake, don't sue.
Rating: T (For now) for future Language, Adult Situations/Themes
Summary: A familiar face from Gigi's past returns to potentially shake things up more than they already are for everyone as she takes her next steps to stardom with an opportunistic mother and new band. Post-'Bang, Bang'.

Author's Note: Though the show is TV-MA, I'm going to try to keep it down to T as much as possible for the widest audience and censor words as they would if you were watching it broadcast. I hope this doesn't take away from the piece.

Special thanks go to Tonita Davis (priestronno) on Twitter for the artwork and help with a particular name in this piece.


Chapter 1

The (SHOO) Factory
New York City, NY
Early May, 2016

Gigi felt invigorated and beyond motivated, more motivated than she had felt in months as she belted out one of the last lines from 'Bang, Bang' while her new band the 'Red Wedding' that was playing with her, trying to recreate the magic of the Assassins when they recorded the song for her 'leaked' music video. The video was getting a lot of attention from well-connected and respectable parties, so they had to reach that same level of performance together to meet with them in the coming week even if most of their eyes would be with her front and center.

After another few moments of singing to reach the end of the song, Gigi leaned forward, taking the microphone stand with her while keeping her chin high and eyes closed as she sang out her last word, "…Bang!"

The guitarist, Manny, who oddly favored Johnny, finished his last note, giving Flash a run for his money in performing despite two decades less in experience than the former Gaga guitarist as Gigi stood up and brushed her hair out of her face.

As the note died down, the others turned to one another and congratulated themselves and shared a few high fives. Manny raised his hand to give Gigi a high five and she responded with a slap of his hand and wore a bright smile, getting into the spirit of a successful rehearsal with the band she had only known for less than a week. She turned to Bo, the base guitarist still wearing his fedora that never seemed to leave his head, to give him one then leaned over to share one with Kari, the blonde keyboardist behind the keyboard.

She may not have been totally at ease with them as she had gotten with the Assassins as she hadn't known them for months, but didn't have to force herself to be excited and share in their feelings of accomplishment.

A soft lazy clapping was heard from the side of the room interrupting their celebration, clearly meant to show the person's approval of her performance.

The band members turned their attention in the direction of the clapping, spying a young man in his very early twenties resting his shoulder against the doorframe. He was a young man with just past shoulder length dark hair with some facial hair and stood at around five-ten with a tan complexion and had slender frame under his unbuttoned red and black plaid shirt, athletic shirt and blue jeans. He wore a soft smile and had the looks to easily be a model.

Gigi's eyes widened to near saucers and her jaw nearly dropped as she recognized the young man.

Manny turned a polite smile to their one man audience and spoke, "Hey, this is a private session and we have it booked for the hour."

The young man ran his right hair through his hair and brushed it back, getting some of it off the right side of his face as he pushed himself off the doorframe and took a step inside the room. He returned with a charming smile that would make any number of young ladies swooning, including Kari behind the keyboard, and answered in just as easygoing manner, "Oh, I'm not a musician. I was just enjoying the performance…" He turned his gaze to Gigi and finished with a bigger smile, "…and just wanted to see an old friend."

The 'Red Wedding' noticed his eyes were entirely on Gigi and as they looked at their lead singer, they saw that she looked as if she had seen a ghost.

Bo reached out and gently touched her left elbow and asked in a concerned voice, "Gigi? You alright?"

The raven hair colored young woman blinked then gazed to her new band mate, seeing his concern look in his eyes. She finally found her voice and answered, "Yeah, I'm fine." She looked to their surprised audience member, blinking a few more times then uttering, "Ah… hey."

He turned a warm smile to Gigi and replied, "It's good to see you too Virginia."

Gigi slightly shook her head, still stunned with this appearance and asked with a forming smile, "Alex, what ah… what are you doing here?"

Alex stuck his hands in his jean pockets and shrugged his shoulders. "I was in town and thought I'd look you up. It's been how many months since we talked?"

Manny pulled his guitar strap over his head and placed the instrument in the nearby stand then asked, "Care to make an introduction Gigi?"

Gigi shook her head and palmed her forehead for a moment before motioning with the same hand to the new arrival and answering, "Right sorry, this is an old friend of mine from Ohio—"

The handsome young man took a few steps forward and offered his hand to the guitarist, "Hello. I'm Alexander Tudor. Nice to meet you."

Manny wore a cautious smile as he accepted the handshake, but it was a quick one since Alexander let it go and turned to Bo, offering a handshake that was accepted. They dropped his handshake then politely nodded his head to Kari and finished, "Ma'am."

Alexander wore a half, but genuine smile as he commented, "You guys were great."

Manny cautiously answered, not sure what to make of the new arrival with being Gigi's 'old friend', "Thanks."

The Ohioan looked back to Gigi, keeping his smile that turned to an affectionate one.

Gigi's expression turned into a sweet, bashful smile, perhaps a little lost for words.

Kari stood up and walked around the keyboard stand to join the others. She darted her eyes back and from with the exchange of looks her new band mate was giving to the handsome young man. She half smirked then motioned toward the exit behind Alexander. "Ah, Gigi, we're going to take five and head for the break room. Do you want anything?"

Gigi shook herself out of the stupor she found herself since the handsome young man arrived and glanced over to Kari to answer with an awkward laugh, "No, I'm fine. Thanks."

Manny and Bo gave questioning looks to Kari, but she nodded her head to her left and grabbed Bo by the end of the sleeve to 'encourage' him to follow her. Manny and the drummer followed behind, not seeing the point to argue with their keyboardist even if he had his reluctance of leaving her with the stranger. The guitar player threw another concerned glance to his band's new lead singer then was the last one out with the others.

Alexander cocked an eyebrow and laughed with a boyish grin, "I didn't think it would be that big a shock to see me."

Gigi took the stride to close the distance between them and wrapped her arms behind his neck to pull him into a hug while his arms naturally wrapped around the small of her back.

He teased with a gentle squeeze of his arms around her, "I like this kind of welcome."

The dark haired smiled beside his head then the musician pulled back, resting her hands on his shoulders while he kept his hands on her sides. She gave him a nervous smile and replied, "Hi… it's been a while."

He laughed it off, trying to keep things relaxed, "Only what? Eight, nine months top. You looked surprised to see me. I didn't change that much did I?"

She reached up and tugged on some of his long hair and teased, "This got longer." She brushed a fingertip over some of the hair above his top lip and the vertical line of hair under his bottom lip to his slight fuss on his chin. "And this is new too. You look like some… conquistador."

He snorted out a laugh and reached up and slipped some of her black locks on her left shoulder between his fingers in return and answered, "This did too… nice dye job. I like that natural brunette, but this definitely works for you too."

"Thanks," she snorted as she took a step back. Her smile faded a little and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Alex's smile turned into an awkward laugh as if he was caught in a compromising position. He was about to answer, but Cat walked from behind the studio controls and asked, "Where's the band…" Her face fell as she recognized the young man. She stuttered a few seconds before stumbling over herself to reply, "Hello Alex?"

Alex let go of Gigi and she took a spot next to him as he returned in a polite manner, but with a tight smile, "Hello Miss Zakarian. It's nice to see you."

Cat's caught off guard look was replaced with a guarded one and asked in a curt tone, "What are you doing here?"

He chuckled and glanced to Gigi with the right corner of his eye, feeling a little trapped, but started to answer anyway—until Johnny walked out from the booth entrance and called out, "Ah, what's going on?"

The former backup singer rolled her eyes and huffed out a breath through her nose before glancing over her right shoulder, clearly perturbed for being interrupted.

Johnny looked a little bewildered that she would give him such a look then looked to Alex. He gave the young man a once over then asked, "Hi, who are you?" He didn't wait for an answer as he darted his gaze between his daughter and current lover/partner/question mark.

The young man offered his hand to Johnny and introduced himself, "I'm Alexander Tudor…" He glanced to Gigi then finished, "…I'm an old friend of Gigi's."

Johnny accepted the handshake and asked, "You are? From Ohio?"

Alex wasn't sure where else an old friend could be from for the young woman that had spent almost her whole life in Ohio, but he wasn't going to remark on it. He answered with a respectful smile, "Ah yeah… and you're… you're the famous Johnny Rock?"

The washed up rock star smiled, pleased that his ego had been stroked and answered, "Yeah, I'm the famous Johnny Rock."

Cat flicked a gaze to Johnny, not liking that the young man was starting off on the right foot with him. One just had to stroke the man's ego (and something else in her case) to get him on your side. She barely constrained herself from being sarcastic as she asked, "So, what's with the visit?"

Alex dropped his handshake and kept his polite smile as he answered, "Okay, try this one more time. I just wanted to check up on Gigi while I was in town. It's been a while since we've seen each other."

Cat narrowed her gaze on the young man and a lace of sarcasm was heard in her voice, "Right… just a friendly visit? New York isn't exactly down the street from New London."

"No, but…" He turned a looked to Gigi with an affectionate gaze. "…the trip is definitely worth it."

Gigi's smile grew, appearing a little bashful with the gaze he was directing at her.

Johnny may not have been the most observant person in the world, but he could definitely see there was some sparks between the pair and it wasn't just 'friendship'.

Cat was quick to jump back into the conversation, trying to still sound friendly while clearly impatient with his presence, "Well, I'm sure Gigi appreciates the visit, but right now she's very busy rehearsing as she has a number of auditions lined up… Lana Del Rey's managing company… Jay Z's Company, so yeah… we need to get her back to rehearsing."

Gigi knotted her brow and turned the disapproving gaze at her mother attempting to brush him off.

Alex nodded along and laughed, "I can imagine after that video…" He looked to Gigi and shook his head, giving her an approving gaze with a smile. "You sounded fantastic and…" He grabbed the collar of his plaid shirt and flicked it back and forth a few times to act if he was cooling himself off around the neck. "You were definitely hot. No wonder your footsteps in it were sizzling while you walked down the hallway…"

The pale musician licked her lips and bashfully bowed her head, but glanced up to meet his eyes. "Ah… thanks."

He looked to Cat and continued, "I wouldn't want to get in the way of her rehearsing…"

"That's good to hear…" the ambitious mother answered while shifting her weight to one leg and started to turn a penetrating stare onto him.

"…yeah, it's not like I ever tried to talk her out of her dream…" he added in a carefree tone while continuing to wear his pleasant smile, but clearly sending a shot over Cat's bow to let her know she wasn't going to brush him aside.

Cat didn't bother wearing a polite expression and turned an annoyed gaze on him.

Johnny raised an eyebrow while Gigi nervously crossed her arms over her stomach.

Alex looked to Gigi and asked, "I guess I can just hang around a bit. If that's alright? I was hoping we could catch up?"

Gigi eagerly nodded and answered, "Sure of course. Yeah… no problem. We just have a few more songs to go through. It shouldn't be too—"

Cat's expression was less than pleased with the idea of the young man's presence. She politely interrupted though it was clear being polite was the last thing she wanted to be with him, "Yeah, but that could take a few more hours…" She looked to Alex and added, "Are you sure you want to stay that long?"

The handsome young man cocked his head to the side and answered in a mildly sarcastic tone, "Oh, I have plenty of time. It's not like I have a job to get back to…"

The ambitious woman narrowed her gaze further, wanting smack the smug look off his face, but stayed her hand.

Johnny and Gigi could feel the tension getting so thick one could cut it with Flash's chainsaw, but neither understood why.

Cat looked to Gigi, took a deep calming breath and asked her daughter in a curt tone, "Where's the band?"

Gigi nodded her head towards the other exit and answered, "They're in the break room. They needed a break."

"Well, I'm going to go get them. We don't have that much time for you to meld with one another so you can blow them away on Thursday." She tightened her smile and spoke, "Alex."

"Miss Zakarian," he answered with a charming smile.

She walked past him to the other entrance to go get the band.

As soon as she was out of the room, Johnny asked, "What the f-[…] was that about?"

Alex blinked then slightly knotted his brow.

Gigi cocked her head while crossing her arms over her chest. "Smooth dad, real smooth."

Johnny shrugged his shoulders and innocently asked, "What?"

Alex innocently answered, "Why she doesn't seem all too happy to see me? I'm not sure what her problem is. I thought we parted on good terms."

The aging rock star questioned, clearly drawing the wrong conclusion from Alex remark, "Parted?"

A sinking feeling started in Gigi's stomach as her mind raced to the same possibility that perhaps something went on between him and her mother. She thought she might die if something happened between them.

Alex threw up a cocked eyebrow and answered, "I worked with the horses on her farm. She had to let me go when her finances got tight. I'm not sure why she would be so… abrasive. It's not like I was mad about it." He just shrugged his shoulders and added, "Some things just happen."

Johnny blew out a sigh of relief, rolled his eyes and laughed, "Yeah, getting foreclosed on will do that to you."

The handsome young man looked a bit stunned with the news. He replied with a raised brow, "It did? Wow… that's news to me."

Gigi slightly squinted, not believing she had heard him right, but the embarrassed expression on his face as if he had been caught told her that she had heard him correctly. Her jaw dropped for a moment and eyes went wide, totally stunned by the news then shouted, "Foreclosed? The house… the farm was foreclosed on?!"

The aging rock star sucked in breath through his closed teeth and gave his daughter a look that he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jaw. He put on a broad grin and answered with an awkward, "Yes, honey… I thought ah… your mom told you…"

Gigi clenched her jaw for a second then hissed out, "No dad, she didn't." She palmed her forehead and turned away from the pair, starting to pace around.

Alex and Johnny shared concerned looks for a second then looked back to the growing upset inspiring musician. She turned to face her father and demanded, "You knew that the farm was foreclosed on?"

Johnny wanted to be anywhere but under the accusing gaze of his daughter, but couldn't escape from it. "I just found out a few days ago and thought your mom told you."

She crossed her arms under her chest, but kept her right hand free and idly pointed to the ground, motioning her finger back and forth to punctuate her words, "So she told you, but not me? Why?"

He nervously chuckled, trying to find anyway to escape the conversation, "Ah… she didn't exactly tell me honey."

"Not 'exactly'? What does that mean?"

Johnny took a deeper breath then slowly let it out then hastily answered, "It's not important right now how I found out; what's important is that your mother is here to support you and do everything she can to make sure you make it big." He raised his hands up and spread his fingers to mimic and explosion. "Big—superstar big."

Gigi cocked her head and gave him a cold stare. She replied with a venom filled sarcastic tone, "Yeah… and I know why she had a sudden change of heart and so eager to come out here and be all supportive of me—she's out of money and I'm her ticket to a big payday."

Johnny closed his mouth and tightly smiled, unable to make any comeback as he had basically accuse Cat of doing the same thing before she convinced him to talk Gigi into firing the band.

Alex looked back and forth between the father and daughter, feeling particularly awkward to be on the sidelines of the secret that shouldn't have been a secret to Gigi. He easily saw that the absentee father was in deep trouble with her. He wasn't particularly concerned about him, but his concern was on Gigi. He turned a sympathetic gaze to Gigi and continued with a sorrowful voice, "Gigi… I'm sorry… about your home."

Gigi's angry gaze was turned on him for a few seconds until she realized what he meant. She was angry about her parents keeping the secret because it was to cover her mother's true motivation of suddenly being onboard to make her a star, but it just hit her that she had lost her childhood home. She may have been desperate to get out of Ohio and as far away as she could from living on a farm, but it was still her home and now it belonged to some bank. Her expression softened then she bowed her head and muttered, "Yeah…"

Cat walked back with the band behind her and cheerfully began, "Okay, let's get on with…" She trailed off and her face dropped to a confused expression when she saw Gigi turn a cold glare to her.

The former Ohioan mother turned a perplexed gaze and asked, "What?"

Gigi wanted to bite her head off, but she held her tongue for a moment and just gave her a harsh glare. She turned to her new band mates and spoke in a clipped tone, "Nothing, we have rehearsals. Let's go through a few more songs and call it a day."

The band members glanced to one another as it didn't go past any of them how angry she looked, but didn't comment as they picked up and took their positions. They realized that one shouldn't trifle with a pissed off Gigi.

Cat's face became a mask to hide the concern she felt as she say she just walked into some emotional minefield. She looked to Johnny, whose face wore guilt all over it, confirming to her that it was entirely his fault. She walked over her 'baby daddy' and grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him along to follow her to the control booth.

Alex glanced to the seats opposite of the band and decided to take a seat in the middle of the couch. He plopped down and crossed over his right leg to rest his ankle on his left knee and rest his right hand on his knee. He eagerly looked to his old friend, ready to be impressed by her musical talent.

Gigi took her place in front behind the microphone, gripping it in her hand then her eyes met Alex's half cocky smile. Her anger dissipated for a moment and turned a small smile to him. She looked over each shoulder and spoke, "Okay, 'Die Trying' from the top." She turned back to look at Alex, subconsciously going to enjoy performing.

The band started playing, Gigi took a breath then belted out the first line, "Let go of my soul… let me up so I can breathe…"


On the other side of the glass in the next room, Cat turned a harsh glare to Johnny and asked, "What happened? Why is she pissed? What did you say? What did he say?"

Johnny put on an embarrassing expression then whispered under his breath, "I kind of let it slip that the house was foreclosed on when he brought up not working for you anymore and now she thinks you're in this for just the money…"

The pushy mother's eyes opened wide then palmed over her forehead and swore, "S-[…]… What did you tell her? You did have the brains to defend me?"

The spiky haired dirty blonde sighed, not appreciating her talking to him like a child. He let out an acerbated breath and answered, "Yes I did. I told her what was important was that you were here supporting her to become big—really big, but… she's too mad to have heard me then you walked back with the band…"

She shut her eyes, palmed over her face and shook her head. She mumbled under her hands, "S-[…], s-[…], s-[…]…" She dropped them and squared her jaw. She glanced to his chest and stated with some exaggerated hand movements, "Well… after rehearsals, we're going to just have to convince her that my intentions are real and that I'm here to make sure she becomes a star. Remind her what we've already accomplished so far in less than two weeks than those losers have done for her in the last eight months."

Johnny nodded to the other side of the glass and remarked, "That might be a little tricky with him here. Her eyes are all over her like he's the only one in the room. Who is he anyway?"

Cat looked out the window and saw Gigi getting into performing and the band messing up with her. She couldn't miss seeing her daughter directing her sole attention to the young man sitting on the couch across from her wearing a content grin. She breathed out a tired breath, "He's her ex."

Johnny blinked and uttered, "Her what?"

She ignored him and kept her focus on her daughter, letting the gears turn in her head about how to remove the new arrival before he could screw up her plan.


"I'm going to get right over you… or I'm going to die trying…"

Alex tightened his smile, but tried to give her a supportive expression as she sang, but the line and the general theme of the song as he listened stung him.

Gigi faltered for a second in seeing his shift in reaction, realizing that perhaps he thought that she was speaking about him, but she quickly recovered and continued pouring her heart into the song.

The other band members noticed her slight fumbled, but continued playing with just glances to one another.

On the other side of the glass, Cat crossed her arms and stared at her daughter. She was pleased that she was putting her heart and soul into her singing, taking her rehearsal seriously after weeks of putting it on the backburner for 'Ava X' even if it was fueled by some anger towards her. However, she didn't like how she was looking at Alex. She had already manipulated the situation to get rid of the Assassins from around Gigi's neck and had Johnny wrapped around her finger, so she didn't need someone else to gunk up the works for her daughter to reach stardom.

Over the next half hour, they played through another few songs, a few of them twice before Gigi turned to the band and congratulated them with a genuine smile, "That was great guys… Manny, Bo, fantastic on guitar."

The pair mirrored in nodding their respective heads and the lead guitarist answered, "Thanks."

Gigi followed up, "Kari, your fingers are magic."

The blonde tightly smile to keep from laughing.

The lead singer looked to the quiet member of the band commented, "You're killing with those drums."

He raised his right hand for a thumbs up and directed an appreciative smile to her.

Alex stood up from the couch and gave an enthusiastic clap. "She's right. You guys were great. Thanks for the free show."

Manny laughed along, "Just make sure you buy two tickets when you see us at our next gig."

The fellow Ohioan laughed along, "I'll remember that."

Gigi took another quick breath then suggested, "I think we can call it an afternoon."

Cat and Johnny walked out of the control booth and she wore an eager smile. "That was great, but are you sure you want to quit for the day? You were playing tight."

Gigi turned a disapproving gaze towards her mother, clearly unhappy with her suggestion.

Manny forced a smile and agreed with who was their unofficial manager that they could play a little longer, but he passed a glance at his watch and saw that they were approaching the end of their rehearsal time. "Our rehearsal time is up for the day though…" He started then passed a look over the others. "Want to head out to get some drinks or something to eat?"

Cat wasn't happy with them stopping already, but she did like the idea of Gigi and the band bonding so they would sync up for their performances. She was about to put in her two cents to suggest a place, but Kari patted her legs under the keyboard and suggested, "Why don't we let Gigi catch up with her friend and we can hang after our next jam?"

Manny wasn't entirely comfortable idea from the look on his face, but answered, "Sure, yeah…"

Cat was ready to turn a glare onto the keyboardist, but Gigi eyed the blonde first and gave her a thankful half smirk. "Thanks Kari. Same time tomorrow then we'll go out for drinks."

"Right, Gi…" the blonde answered with an understanding gaze.

Bo and Manny packed up their guitars while the others were grabbing their jackets then Kari grabbed Bo's hand and pulled him along, signaling the others that they should follow. Kari waved back and gave Gigi a knowing smile.

The ambitious mother had to bite her tongue as she watched her raven hair colored daughter give a slight nod of her head, signaling she got the message. Gigi looked to Alex and looped her arm around his right arm. They shared a bashful smile for a moment then she asked, "So, you want to head out and grab those drinks and catch up?"

He snorted out a laugh, "It's a little early for my one beer a day."

She rolled her eyes and slightly shook her head. "I know this great little coffee shop."

He raised an eyebrow and a corner of his mouth and asked in a deadpan manner, "Am I going to have to buy you a bagel?"

She bit her bottom lip and smirked, signaling that was exactly what he was going to have to do for her. He smiled with his to show he had absolutely no problem doing just that for her. She turned with him and walked with him to the door, pausing only long enough for her to grab her jacket and purse.

Cat grabbed Johnny by the wrist and practically dragged him along, not wanting the pair to get out of her sight.

Coffee Shop
New York City, NY

The quartet, much to Gigi chagrin of her parents joining them because of them keeping the foreclosure to themselves and interrupting catching up with Alex in private, sat around a small table in the shop that she had shared a number of times with Flash and where the band had a number of celebrated lunches including for Ava X. She sat across from Alex while her parents sat on the other sides of the table from one another. She felt like they were setting themselves up as some kind of referees or chaperons. The only thing that was settling her nerves was that Alex was sitting across from her and she had a nice cup of coffee and bagel in front of her.

Alex took a bite from a cookie and was the first to really start off the conversation, "So, you've been busy since you got to New York. Hitting the club scene, getting into the trade magazines…" He interrupted himself with a laugh, "…which they misspelled your band's name, though I wasn't really paying attention to that the first few times…" His laugh trailed off as he finished, "…I saw your trip to Europe. That certainly made the news."

Gigi took a quick sip from her cup then replied with a proud smile, "Yeah, climbing my way up one step at a time."

He looked to Cat as he added, "And getting a new band in the process…"

Cat was quick to defend her actions as she could see a slight accusing look in his eyes, "It was something Gigi had to do for her to progress. They were weighing her down with all their rivalries and f-ed up problems and history and she didn't have time to deal with all that s-[…]. They already did enough damage to her and she needed to cut her losses before they dragged her down with them."

Alex slightly squinted and looked to Gigi, questioning in a measure, but clearly concerned voice, "What did they do?"

Gigi took a deep breath through her nose then loudly sighed out, "I don't want to talk about that right. That s-[…] is too heavy right now and I don't want to think about it."

He nodded along with an understanding expression, though he was going to get to the bottom of what had happened. "Okay, that's cool… whatever." He quickly brought his drink to his lips in an attempt to play the whole thing off casual, but his concern for her skyrocketed.

Cat jumped back into the conversation to push, glancing over to Gigi to make her point, "And that's why it's important we get as much rehearsal time as we can for her and the 'Red Wedding' to mesh up as I admit, she sounds fantastic with the Assassins."

Gigi sighed and restrained from rolling her eyes to answer, "We can do too much rehearsing. I don't want to overstrain my voice or risk them overplaying. I can't afford to be in a middle of a jam being watched by all the people you have lined up and one of them has a hand cramp and just blows it for me."

Cat picked up her coffee cup to her lips, restraining herself from arguing with her daughter in a public place.

Alex glanced off to the side and brushed the side the side of his hand over his mouth.

Gigi noticed the action and asked, "What?"

He turned a smile to his former girlfriend and laughed, "Sorry, I'm just remembering that Halloween pic from a few years ago where you were dressed up as some kind of zombie in that red dress. You could have been a dead bride in that."

She took a moment to recall the memory then soon cracked a grin and nodded along. She added with a soft giggle, "You were a great zombie Captain Sparrow—this time you have the facial hair to go with it."

The horse handler rolled his eyes and replied, "I thought we made an odd and original couple."

She bowed her head and glanced at her plate, keeping a small grin on her face. She looked up and asked, "So, how did you know I got a new band and how did you now where I was this afternoon?"

"Ah… you tweeted about the band," he started with restrained grin but finished with a soft laugh.

Gigi pursed her lips and glanced down, feeling a bit dumb that she had casually tweeted that out as if it was no big deal. She dryly remarked, "Yeah, I did tweet that out…"

"And I saw a sign a few times in your pics about where you were rehearsing. I googled the address and I took a stab that you'd be there. I wanted to surprise you."

"You certainly did that," she answered with a joyful grin and took a bite out of her bagel.

Johnny didn't bother hiding his confusion about how well the former couple was getting along in light of how she reacted to Flash when they broke up. He tried to casually laugh along, "So, you've been keeping up with Gigi since she left Ohio?"

Alex took another bite of his cookie then answered, "Sure. Of course I have. I have been keeping up with her on Twitter, Instagram and whatever news pops up with your name in it…" He looked to Gigi and slightly leaned forward to whisper as if they were by themselves, "Your mom's talked about you a few times since you've been gone."

Cat tightened her smile, trying to keep a pleasant expression on her face, regretting now ever mentioning her daughter around him or giving him a job at her farm.

Gigi slightly shook her head, only imagining what her mother had said about her while she was gone—probably not anything flattering with her railing against her being in New York in the first place. Then again, she wasn't particularly flattering when she spoke about her mother to others.

Johnny tried to casually insert himself back into the conversation, "Because you were working on Cat's farm? With the horses?"

His question was clearly meant to probe the true relationship between the young man and the mother of his child, but before Alex could answer, the inspiring musician was quick answer, "That's because he's always been good with the horses…" She turned on a knowing grin in his direction. "…it's probably the only reason why you wanted to come over to my house that first time."

Alex relaxed back in his chair and teased, "What? Hanging out with a pretty girl to do homework with wasn't enough?"

It was probably not the best joke to make in front of her parents, but she made it anyway, "I was an A-cup back then…"

The long haired Ohioan awkwardly chuckled, "It wasn't you chest I fell for back then…"

Gigi ran her tongue over the front of her top teeth then took another bite from her bagel, eyeing him with a teasing look in her eyes.

Cat took a slow breath and hid her expression behind her cup, resisting the urge to kick the young man under the table.

Alex continued on with Johnny's original question, "Yeah, I love horses, so after we graduated from New London High School, I went to Ohio State's Agricultural tech school to pick up my associate's degree on Horse Production and Management and finished up my bachelor's in business with a few more biology classes to flesh out my animal science back in December." He glanced to Cat and finished, "Been working for Miss Zakarian on her farm through college."

Gigi turned a genuine smile to him and said, "Congrats. I know you worked hard for it."

He turned a teasing smile to her and replied, "It just wasn't the same without you that last year… who else was I going to copy my work from?"

The lovely musician rolled her eyes and took another bite from her bagel.

Johnny squinted and asked his daughter, "Wait, you went to college?"

Gigi finished the morsel in her mouth then shrugged a shoulder and replied, "Just the same tech school for the first two years out of high school. Mom was insistent I learn about the business, but you know… finished the associate's degree and it didn't take… and the commute was a bitch each way."

"Hey, I didn't think I was that bad of company. I drove most of the time and I let you hog the radio."

She slightly tilted her head to the side and just eyed him for a moment, trying not to crack a smile as he directed a teasing one at her.

Johnny interrupted, a bit astonished that this was the first time he had heard about that tidbit of her life, "Wow honey, that's kind of amazing. I didn't realize you studied horses, I mean you know, at a college level."

The young woman paused on thinking about might have been, but quickly answered, "Yeah, but… you know… it's about the music now for me."

Cat placed a supportive hand on Gigi's upper arm and assured her, "And you're going to be the biggest name in it. We're going to make sure of it sweetie."

Alex teased just before he took a sip from his drink, "Yeah, I can't wait to illegally download your album."

The former backup singer turned a glare to Alex, but Gigi snorted then had to cover her mouth from letting out a soft laugh.

"Unless I get a free copy of your album that you sign… then I can sell it online?"

Gigi crossed her arms to rest them on the table and shook her head, smirking and looking like she had something to say.

Alex chuckled and took another sip of his drink.

The young singer sat up in her seat and asked, "So, you've obviously been keeping up with what I've been doing, what are you doing now…" She glanced to her mother and finished with a bit of an icy tone, "…that you're not working for my mom?"

He sat his drink down then answered, "Oh, just in the middle of job hunting, but there are plenty of stables in and around New London. I shouldn't have any problem picking up something. I had the opportunity, so why not come and visit you? I tried to get Becky to come along, but she's busy doing her thing, but she does send you her love."

Gigi smiled again, something she didn't realize she had been doing a lot of since he arrived at the rehearsal studio. "Good, because if you need any—"

Alex shook his head and cut her off, "I don't want any money from you Gigi. I'm fine. I don't have any student loans out and I've saved up a nice little nest egg working for your mom and I still have a roof over my head."

She nodded her head to the side and replied, "Okay, so… if you have a roof over your head, where are you staying while you're here?"

"Oh, I got me this little hotel room. It's not the best, but it's not the worst," he casually answered then took another bite of his cookie.

Gigi could only imagine what kind of hotel room he could be renting in the city if it wasn't one of the four or five star places and it did not meet her approval. "No, you don't have to do that. Why don't we stop by where you're staying then head back to our place?" She glanced to the table and asked, "I have a couch at my place if you want to crash there? Save you some cash for a hotel."

Alex shook his head. "I didn't come out here to impose on you Gigi, just to see you and maybe enjoy the city a bit."

Cat was quick to interrupt, trying to come off as pleasant, but to Gigi's ears, clearly coming off with an agenda, "Alex is right. He's never been one to impose on anybody."

Gigi guardedly looked to her mother then put on a bright, almost vindictive smile towards her and replied, "He's not imposing…" The smile softened into a genuine one as she finished, "…he's visiting."


Author's Note: I hope this as enticed you to come back for future chapters to this story. If you haven't guest who would have been cast for the role of Alexander Tudor, that would be the familiar as one Avan Jogia. Also, apologize for not naming the drummer, but he wasn't listed in the credits for the season final, so it wasn't a slight on my part towards not naming him.